MP for Walewale Justifies Minority Walkout Over Deputy Minister’s Statement in Parliament

Member of Parliament for Walewale, Hon. Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama, has addressed the media following the Minority Caucus’ decision to stage a walkout from Parliament in protest against what they describe as a breach of parliamentary procedure and abuse of majority power.

Speaking at a press briefing, Hon. Kabiru Tiah explained that the Minority’s decision was in response to the Deputy Minister of Finance’s statement, which, according to him, mentioned specific names of Minority MPs without providing them the opportunity to respond.

He pointed out names such as Hon. Abena Osei Asare, Dr. Gideon Boako, and Dr. Amin Adam was mentioned during the Minister’s submission, yet those individuals were not present to offer clarifications or defend their positions. “It is inappropriate to single out individual members during a budget response when those members are not available to speak for themselves,” Hon. Kabiru stated.

He argued that the practice undermines the principles of fair parliamentary debate and reflects a misuse of the Majority’s numerical advantage. He further accused the Speaker of Parliament and the First Deputy Speaker of being complicit in what he described as “procedurally incorrect” conduct. “The Speaker should have called the Deputy Minister to order when he started veering off track. Instead, he allowed it, despite our objection,” he lamented.

Hon. Kabiru questioned whether the Majority and the Finance Ministry lacked the competence to properly address the concerns raised by the Minority. “They had the benefit of listening to the Minority’s debate for three days, yet couldn’t provide a direct and adequate response,” he said.

He concluded by inviting the Majority to engage the Minority in a public town hall debate if they are confident in their position. “We are ready to continue the debate, but not under the guise of biased parliamentary procedures and the protection of the Speaker,” he added.

Report by PKB